Thoughts on FJR 1300

[trevor]

Great to hear Jim! Id say give the Gen 2 a whirl and see what you think. 2 up was also a big reason why I went with the Connie. My misses and I hated riding the B-King together and since we both love riding 2 up the Connie was the best match, for us that is. The FJR not so much. Lol I can't belive you said they made you cramped... Then again Your the only person I know that can make a GS1000 look like a 400 when you ride it.

Keep us posted!

You have never seen BigT on his 1000. Lol

 

[feelergaugephil]

I decided on 09 Connie over FJR, luv it...

 

[Frankenzuki]

Going to throw my 2 cents in. Rode pretty much every sport tourer out there when the wife and I were looking for a better 2-up bike. Loved the ZG14 but couldn't find a decent deal on one. Liked the FJR's also. Took a ST1300 for a ride and bought it. Just added a Givi top case, helibar risers and heated grips. Very comfortable, handles well ( sides of my riding boots are missing material..) have managed to squeak 300 miles out of a full tank. Very happy with it until we got the mutt... now I'm cruising around on a Royal Enfield Bullet with a side car. Still have the Honda, just dosn't get the mileage it deserves

 

[Jedz123]

Good to hear about your ST. I honestly wasn't sold on them, mainly the price was the highest out of the 3 and true Honda is the most reliable manufacturer but I really wanted a bike with true getup and go and that crown is held on the Connie's head IMO. It's amazing the sport technology all the bikes have. I don't have chicken strips on any of my tires on the ZG. On rails it is and same is true for the other STs out there.

 

[madjack57754]

I bought a FJR in 2002 (first year in US) It was a great ride in spring and late fall. Not so much in between. Heat was the problem. Engine directed everyting into the riders area. About cooked on a road trip to Colorado in July. It took a couple years for Yamaha to correct the problem, somewhere around 2005-2006 it got better. Sold mine spring of 2003 for what I had paid for it in 2002.

 

[Guest]

I like the Yammy ST, but but would go for the Kawi, were I to get something in that category.

 

[Frankenzuki]

" Sold mine spring of 2003 for what I had paid for it in 2002."

For what it is worth the FJR's seem to hold their value very well. Love the Connie's motor, the 14 is nothing like the old 1000 Connie. I'm in Connecticut, everything we looked at was priced well above KBB. The Honda was a steal, guy was moving, U-haul packed. He wanted his wife to drive the uhaul and he was going to ride the ST to NC. I made him an offer and she explained to him how it was going to go......

 

[Redman]

.
.
.
. The bulletproof shaft Kawi designed for it is a thing of beauty all by itself.

looks a bit like this

2002 R1150RT

 

[Frankenzuki]

Wife and I rented a 1200RT on a trip to Oregon a couple years ago. Bike had 60K + on it, we put just over 1600 miles on it in 4 days. Awesome 2-up bike, very comfortable, rock steady handling. it was on our short list when we were buying. Just too expensive to leave in the garage for the couple times a tear we get to take a trip.

 

[Guest]

Still haven't completely decided but leaning towards the Connie.The only thing that really bothers me are all the electronics. Just can't come to grips with not being able to do roadside repairs on so critical item's such as a fail key fob:nightmare:

 

[Guest]

I'm seeing a lot of former FJR owners go to the FJ-09 with the FJR bags. Seems like your getting a two-fer, Sport touring with the bags / ABS and full on hooligan without. Probably looking at 12K before you've got it set up with a proper two up seat. They've got new maps that resolve any fueling issues. Not a really attractive bike but I've yet to see a bad or even middling review.

 

[Guest]

Well I bought a first gen Fjr today, got it for a decent price with a few extras. 65 year old ,one owner bike with all records. It is an 05' , hasPenski shock, Gmd rebuilt front end with race tech springs and has been revalved, new tires fresh fluids all around, Throttlemiester throttle lock. Heated grips, . Figured I would pick this up and see if I liked it instead of buying new. I got it at a price where If I don't like it I can flip it pretty easily

 

[Guest]

Congrats, I'm with you, screw new, too much depreciation.

Sounds sorted, does it have mods to reduce engine heat on the thighs? There are three of them local to me at $4500 with less than 20K miles but they don't have those nice suspension mods

I have a Penske on my FZ1 and its very nice. The wife keeps pointing at the FJRs we see saying wouldn't one of those be nice.

 

[Guest]

Congrats, I'm with you, screw new, too much depreciation.

Sounds sorted, does it have mods to reduce engine heat on the thighs? There are three of them local to me at $4500 with less than 20K miles but they don't have those nice suspension mods

I have a Penske on my FZ1 and its very nice. The wife keeps pointing at the FJRs we see saying wouldn't one of those be nice.

No heat mods that I know of , but had not heard much about heat on the thighs just the left foot on real hot days. Ya 4500 is where I am at with the mods, a few more miles though.We will see , and f I like it may find one alittle newer down the road.But I am so big I have to go with what fits me(6'4" 310 lbs)

 

[cowboyup3371]

Please let me know what you think of the bike. I have been doing more and more research about them and know the Gen 1s have a big heat issue towards the rider like Isleoman said. According to the information I found, the Gen IIs (2006 to about 2012) do a better job at keeping the rider cool. But the one close to me that I can find at a decent price is a 2005 model

 

[RichDesmond]

Up in NH it may be fine, I rode a friend's '06 down here in Oklahoma in the summer and the heat really put me off. One of the main reasons I gave up on the big ST bikes and went with a V-Strom as my touring/commuting bike.

 

[wymple]

Still haven't completely decided but leaning towards the Connie.The only thing that really bothers me are all the electronics. Just can't come to grips with not being able to do roadside repairs on so critical item's such as a fail key fob:nightmare:

And what bike is devoid of said electronics overload? That's why all my stuff is early 80's. My son can't work on his Beemer, my nephew can't work on his Indian, buddy can't do anything on his V-Max, etc. I swear they have 1/2 dozen onboard computers or better.

 

[Jethro]

He got a Yamaha, it will never break down!

 

[Guest]

The mods to reduce the heat are pretty in-expensive. Some folks feel the need to reduce it others don't.

Like Jethro says its a Yamaha it won't break down.

 

[Guest]

He got a Yamaha, it will never break down!

I won't go that far, seems to me I see a life line from a GS to a Yamaha not that long ago.��